Quotes about Goodness

We prefer to get salvation the old-fashioned way: We earn it. To accept grace is to admit failure, a step we are hesitant to take. We opt to impress God with how good we are rather than confessing how great he is.

Isaiah 57:1—2: "The good men perish; the godly die before their time, and no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to realize that God is taking them away from evil days ahead. For the godly who die shall rest in peace" (TLB).

How is your eyesight? Are you able to see beyond your problems to the goodness and love beyond? This is where God lives—behind the scenes, at work, arranging your troubles of today into a brighter tomorrow.

God's unrivaled goodness undergirds everything else we can say about prayer. If he is like us, only slightly stronger, then why pray? If he grows weary, then why pray? If he has limitations, questions, and hesitations, then you might as well pray to the Wizard of Oz. However, if God is at once Father and Creator, holy—unlike us—and high above us, then we at any point are only a prayer away from help.

Celebrate God's goodness. "Rejoice in the Lord always" (v. 4). Ask God for help. "Let your requests be made known to God" (v. 6). Leave your concerns with him. "With thanksgiving…" (v. 6). Meditate on good things. "Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise" (v. 8 NCV). Celebrate. Ask. Leave. Meditate. C.A.L.M.

If I'm not saved by my works, then why work? If I'm not saved by the law, then why keep the law? If I'm not saved by what I do, then why do anything?" You've got to admit, grace is risky. There is the chance that people will take it to an extreme. There is the possibility that people will abuse God's goodness.

Celebrate God's goodness. "Rejoice in the Lord always" (v. 4). Ask God for help. "Let your requests be made known to God" (v. 6). Leave your concerns with him. "With thanksgiving . . ." (v. 6). Meditate on good things. "Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise" (v. 8 NCV). Celebrate. Ask. Leave. Meditate.

The LORD is good. His love is forever, and his loyalty goes on and on. Psalm 100:5

Not one bad deed has deducted from my salvation. No good deed, if there are any, has enhanced it.

And who are we? We are the branches. We bear fruit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness" (Gal. 5:22 NASB). We meditate on what is "true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable . . . excellent and worthy of praise" (Phil. 4:8 NLT). Our gentleness is evident to all. We bask in the "peace of God, which transcends all understanding" (Phil. 4:7 NIV).

I'm convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they're stones that don't matter. As long as you're breathing, it's never too late to do some good.

Good done anywhere is good done everywhere.